film criticism by maryann johanson | since 1997
Reviews on Amazon, Goodreads, and anywhere else that sells ebooks really do help. Plus: A teaser from the book to tempt those who haven’t bought a copy yet. (Also: The serial science fiction project I’ve teased a few times is about to launch!)
As you may have noticed, things are looking a lot fresher round these parts in the last few days…
Come on down for a gen-u-ine American dystopia at the crossroads of end-of-empire and late-stage capitalism. Chloé Zhao’s outsider’s eye is hugely sympathetic but unhindered by knee-jerk patriotism.
This sci-fi dreadfest immerses you into a shocking mystery, punches you in the gut, then grips you with a wisdom that transcends its obviousness, daring you to deny that its open savagery is our own.
“Hey, so you wanna go to the disneys tonight?”
This infuriatingly reductive biopic of the Hobbit author renders him as stolid and dull, and removes all the mystery and the wonder from creative inspiration. Literal-minded and free of magic.
…it’s that ubiquitous.
Amazon’s Black America is the alt-history show we need…
Not alt-history but a true story from a Nazi-occupied English-speaking place, a hugely relevant reminder that resistance to injustice is an absolute imperative.
Grim treats, mining suspense and urgency from intensely plotted dual timelines of brutal criminality. A must for fans of rumpled, cynical, bitter detectives.
